


Love And Hate

by MissReaperDeath



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aborted No Mercy Route, Abusive Parents, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Genocide Route, Child Abuse, Child is named Kiddy, Determined Child, Eventual Relationships, F/F, F/M, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Self-Sacrifice, Surrogate family, True Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-16 21:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5841037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissReaperDeath/pseuds/MissReaperDeath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A human father and a human daughter climbs Mount Ebbot, for reasons unknown to the daughter until she is shoved into the hole and her father jumps in after her. They're stuck in a world she never knew was underground, and she meets many wonderful monsters on her reluctant journey back to the Surface. She has a heart full of love, while her father has a heart full of hate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Father and Daughter

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit of a stretch for a story. I don't know if anyone will like it, but please do be kind on me as it's my first Undertale work. 
> 
> The Reader is not Frisk, nor Chara. The reason there is an Aborted No Mercy Route and Attempted Genocide Route warnings is not because of the Reader, but the father who is with her. The dad is kind of a jerk, but the Reader will be doing a Pacifist Route. I will put my own twist in the story by changing a few scenes. Please stick with me until the end.

Darkness. Then, pain. You could barely comprehend when your left cheek began to sting and swell. A small whimper escapes you and he tells you to be quiet, to which you obey. His large hand, aged from the years of hardship and work he had put himself through, grabs your small hand and he takes long strides up the mountain path. Your legs move quickly to match his pace, but you’re beginning to grow tired. You did not get enough rest, and he was to blame.

 

“That woman,” you hear him mutter to himself as the scenery passes by you. This mountain is beautiful, but you didn’t have time to enjoy the scenery. You wondered why Mount Ebbot was off limits to the public, “that woman is going to take all my money… My house, my car…” You believe he was talking about your mother, who was sleeping back at the home that was cut off from water and electricity due to your father not paying the bills on time. You wish you could be sleeping in your own bed, but you keep it to yourself with the possibility that you would be struck on the face again by him for it.

 

“Daddy…?” You ask softly but he doesn’t seem to hear you as he leads you further into the mountain, where you both enter a cavern. He simply squeezes your hand, and you believe he is looking for some sort of comfort, so you give him comfort.

 

***You tell your father that you love him.**

 

***He doesn’t spare you a glance, but grimaces solemnly.**

 

“That’s right… that woman didn’t love me, but I know my baby girl does.” You see his sad smile turn awry. His hand squeezes you a bit tighter and you find it more painful than your swollen cheek. “I have at least someone who loves me.” He walks faster, and he pulls you along, not even slowing down for a second. You’re growing more frighten by his strange behavior by the second.

 

“Daddy?” Deep within the cavern, with amber morning sunlight peeking through the cracks, you see a chasm in the middle of the ground up ahead. It looked as though someone had taken a paintbrush and black paint and drew it on the ground. It was that dark. You don’t like the dark. “Daddy, look.” You say as you point towards it, and he lets out a small hum that tells you he was listening to you. 

 

You expect him to stop in his tracks and turn around to go back home, to tuck you into bed and pretend this walk never happened, but he didn’t. He kept walking and leading you towards the big hole in the ground. It looks deep and if one of you were to toss in a pebble or an acorn, it may not hit the bottom for a long while. 

 

“Honey, do you really love Daddy?” He asked you a question and dutifully, you look up to him with a smile.

 

***You remind your father that you love him.**

 

“Then will you die with Daddy?” You give him a confused look.

 

“What do you mean, Daddy?”

 

His large hand slips out of your hand, and you miss the warmth it gave you. It rests on your shoulder and he gives you a fatherly pat. He doesn’t say anything until he rests his hand on your head, turning your head to look forward at the endless black pit.

 

“It means we don’t have to suffer anymore.”

 

He pushes you forward and you scream as you fall into the darkness that grabbed you so willingly. You reach a hand up to the edge that was quickly growing further from your reach and the light is dimming from the opening of this hole. The figure of your father is standing at the edge, looking down at you…

 

And he jumped after you.

 

* * *

 

 

_Your eyes open and you find yourself in a dark room. It’s quiet and surprisingly, you can see your hand in front of you. You quickly grow afraid of the darkness and you cry out for your father._

 

***But no one came…**

 

_The loneliness gets to you rather quickly. You sit up and look around, with fear evident on your face. Where’s Daddy? You reach your hands out, feeling around before finding nothing but the flat, dark ground underneath you. The fear settles in and you rub your hands over your eyes, fighting off the desire to cry out for your father again. You wanted to cry, but at the same time, you didn't want to. If Dad found you crying, he'd hit you until you would force yourself to stop._

_You feel fear crawling down your back._

 

_Someone’s hand brushes through your tangled locks, yet you don’t jump out of your skin. Slowly, you glance over and see in front of you a floating white skull with a sad smile and cracks from his hollowed eyes. His hands that float below him, the ones that have been comfortably combing through your hair, have perfect holes in the palm of their boney hands._

 

_You realize that it wasn’t a floating head and hands. He had a body, but the darkness made it too hard to see._

 

_His hands pats you on the head and you feel your eyes close. His boney hand was surprisingly warm._

 

_“_ **T h e r e i s n o n e e d t o f e a r , c h i l d .** _“_

 

_You see a pair of almost identical children standing before you. One with bright red eyes and a green sweater, and one with closed eyes and a blue sweater. They looked nothing like the skeleton looming over the three of you. They're both staring at you and you find a heart in front of you, and they both turn their heads to it. It's white and shines beautifully, and they seem to be mesmerized by it. They both reach their hands out to touch it._

 

 _"_ Stay determined. _" They say to you as their fingers graze past it. The skeleton behind you pats your head and you close your eyes._

* * *

 

 

Your eyes blink open and you find yourself amidst a patch of shining, yellow flowers. The pollen drifts around in a gentle flurry, sticking to you and acrobatically flying through the sunbeams. You sit up and look around, wondering where you were.

 

“Daddy…?”

 

You hear a groan next to you, and you turn your head, seeing your father laid out next to you in the flowers. Relief swells in you and you reach out, gently shaking his shoulder. Gently calling out to him, you hear him stir and sit up, “Whe…where are we…?”

 

You don’t know where you are, so you don’t answer him.

 

He doesn’t like that.

 

“Where the f*** are we?!” He turns to you as his voice grows angrier and louder. You flinch and cower away from him. He decides that you aren’t worth consoling and instead sneers, “Tch…I can’t believe we survived.”

 

Your eyes blink and you remembered that he had pushed you into the hole before jumping in, wanting the two of you to ‘die’. You assume, not knowing how to die, that it failed. Your father always gets angry when things don’t go as plan.

 

In this case, he looks angrier than usual. He looks at you and you can see him raise his hand at you, and you flinch as your hand cover your still swollen cheek.

 

“Howdy!”

 

Dad freezes, as he doesn’t like to hit you in front of strangers, and turns around, and you take the time to look around him. There’s a yellow flower, a bit further away from the patch of flowers, in front of both of you. This flower was unique, however.

 

It had a face.


	2. It's Love and Be Killed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOWIE! I never thought there would be so much positive feedback. It brings tears to me, really, it does. I look forward to continuing this story.

_There was a flicker in the sunlight shining down on the bed of flowers._

 

_Flowers roughly crumbled under the weight of two figures, hitting the ground quite harshly before the bodies tumbled away from each other and immersed in the golden petals. The crumpled flowers merely sprung back up, glinting in the sunbeam, while two SOULs floated up from the bodies. The heart floating above the considerably smaller figure is unblemished and fragile and the heart floating near the larger figure is clouded and dark._

 

_The bright, white soul pulsates dimly, and spidery threaded cracks trail up the SOUL. The cracks deepened, with the sound similar to window cracking, and the light emitting from the SOUL grows dimmer by the second. From the center of the patch of golden flowers, a red SOUL emerged from the ground and headed towards the white SOUL._

 

_The hearts are side by side, with the red SOUL slipping into the cracked white SOUL. The cracks glow and after a few pulses of light, the cracks disappeared, and the white SOUL shines brightly._

 

_The black SOUL twitches and pulsates, before a large crack forms and deepens in the center._

 

* * *

 

Your father looks in both surprise and disgust, and you simply stare on in awe at how cute it was. The flower simply looks at the both of you in playful amusement, “I’m Flowey, Flowey the Flower! Look at this, two new faces. I bet you’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha?” Your father grimaces and you give a hesitant nod, watching the Flower smile, almost maliciously, “Golly! You both must be so confused.”

 

“We are,” Dad finally replies as flower bounces in place in wicked excitement. “Could you possibly tell us how to…get back up there?” He looks uncomfortable about asking a flower on how to get home, and Flowey shakes his petals.

 

“You’re gonna have to ask someone else, buddy,” Flowey narrows his eyes at Dad before reverting back to that smile, “but someone ought to teach you how things work around here before you can ask around.” Flowey leans his stem to the right, his beady black eyes landing on you, “do you want to help me demonstrate on how things work around here? He,” Flowey looks to Dad before looking back at you, “looks too scared.”

 

Dad grunts, taking it as an insult, but doesn’t say anything as you step around him. Flowey bounces in place, only to stop when Dad puts a hand on your shoulder, keeping you in the middle of the both of them. The flower catches a glimpse of your swollen cheek and tilts his petals.

 

“Gosh, what happened there, _friend_?” Flowey asks, drawling out the last word, and Dad squeezes your shoulder, and you try not to flinch. Flowey narrows his eyes with some sly smile and looks to you. When your eyes meet his, you didn’t look away from Flowey. He returns to that brilliant smile, and this time it makes you nervous, “Ready? Here we go!”

 

Your chest lights up, and you can hear Dad gasp in fear. It doesn’t hurt, but you find your hands grow clammy with fear. What was Flowey doing to you?

 

“Hey, what did you do to my baby girl?!” Dad demands and you catch Flowey roll his eyes.

 

“Golly, what _did_ I do to her,” Flowey mocks at Dad as something sprouts from your chest, and a small heart floats out, white and clear like a diamond. You look in awe and hold a hand out just below it, wondering if you could touch it. Flowey seems to be pleased to see this heart while Dad looked ready to yank you back and bolt away, “do you see that heart? That’s your soul, the very culmination of your being!” You are left confused but Flowey continues anyway, “Your soul starts off really weak, but it can grow stronger if you gain a lot of LV.”

 

“ ‘El’…’Vee’?” You ask and Flowey takes in your confused gaze, “What does that mean…?”

 

“Why, LOVE, of course!” You process that word as Flowey gives you a bright eyed look and he gives a grin that had a strange look to it, “I bet you want some LOVE, don’t you?” Dad’s hand leaves your shoulder and Flowey gives him a small sneer. You stare at your heart before looking up at Flowey.

 

“I do.” You say, almost wondering if that was the wrong thing to say when you feel Dad’s glare on you. At your words, the smile on Flowey’s face grows more sinister and you feel yourself being pulled away, hidden behind your father. Flowey’s menacing smile drops and he gives Dad a tired look.

 

“I think that’s enough. Whatever you’re trying to teach her, it’s not going to be any use for us. We’re not going to be here long,” Dad says as you could see the irritation rise on Flowey’s face. It was impressive how expressive a flower could be, “so we don’t need whatever you’re trying to…share with us.”

 

“You are going to need to learn, either by me or by someone else,” it sounded more like a threat but Flowey’s smile returns, though it’s twitching by the corner, “well, if she isn’t gonna get any LOVE, then I’ll just share it with you!”

 

Popping sounds are heard in the air and you look up, seeing spinning white oval shaped pellets floating around in a constant spinning twirl. They hover above Flowey and Dad looks uneasy. Dad’s chest glows and you see a heart come from his chest, but the sight of it brings Flowey to a gasp.

 

The poor, small heart was pitch black with noticeable cracks.

 

“...Gee whiz, that’s a sight,” Flowey says after intensely gazing at it. You tilt your head in confusion and Flowey gives a ‘sweet’ smile at Dad before resuming his lesson, “you know, down here, LOVE is spread through,” Flowey takes a second, deep in thought as if deciding what he should refer to the spinning white objects as, “….little white…‘ _friendliness pellets_ ’.”

 

“Wait, what?” Dad backs away, and he bumps into you and you stumble back, where he takes a moment to look back at you and glare. Flowey snickers as the pellets float straight towards Dad’s heart.

 

“Move around! Get as many as you can!” The flower encourages Dad as you watch his heart float a bit before trying to redirect it around the flying pellets. A snarl grows on Flowey’s face and before you know it, Dad grabs your arm and pushes you in front of him, where the pellets hit your heart.

 

Pain hits you and you stumble back, clutching your chest as the glow your heart emitted dims like a broken light bulb. Dad looked on in fear with small whimpers escaping you. Bruises began to form on your body, almost matching the pain in your swollen cheek. Flowey is baffled before narrowing his eyes at Dad,

 

“I’m shocked that you understand that in this world, **i t s k i l l o r b e k i l l e d**.”

 

As you cough to catch your breath, with pain riddling your small body, you could feel your father’s arms around you. He lifted you up and dashed away from the flower, running blindly into the darkness. His breathing had a shaky, fast pace, and his legs pounded against the dark ground in fast, thundering steps. It didn’t take long for Dad to navigate through the darkness and find himself in a dark room with towering pillars in the tint of lavender. There was more sunlight beaming down from the cracks high above them, hitting a patch of grass growing in the center of the dark room. Straight ahead was an outline of a door that could be made out in the darkness, and it only took Dad a few seconds to spot it.

 

His stumbling steps from the constant rushed movements and the frightened adrenaline pumping in his veins caused him to almost drop you several times, but not once did his arms loosen around you. His eye was on the door shrouded in the shadows, and just as he was halfway across the room, Flowey had popped out of the center of the patch of grass. Dad shrieked in terror as he dug his heels into the ground, backing away as the both of you stared at Flowey in uneasiness.

 

Flowey blinked his beady little eyes and bounced in place, looking completely innocent. “You really are pathetic, aren’t you?” Flowey shakes his petals, before grinning a wicked smile that was more frightening than your father’s anger. The terribly familiar ‘friendliness pellets’ materialize around the father and daughter, trapping them within a circle of the white, oval seeds that rotated in place. You clutch your Dad’s shirt, panic blooming in both your mind and eyes.

 

“ **D I E**. ”

 

The pellets were closing in, mocking the father-daughter duo with the not-so-tantalizing pain that was to come instantly at impact, and you bury your head into Dad’s chest, feeling Flowey’s gaze on you. You were scared. So scared. What if Dad threw you at the pellets again?

 

Would you die?

 

You take a peek up at your father, and your body grows cold at the sight of him looking down at you. His grip on you gets tighter and your heartbeat quickens in its pace.

 

“Do you still love me, baby girl?” He asked as the pellets grow closer and closer, his eyes burning into you. Your throat becomes dry and you know exactly what he wants to hear.

 

However, you know exactly what he’s going to do once you say it. With knowing what comes next, you don’t want to tell him.

 

*** …**

 

You are terrified, but the white, dimming heart floating near your chest pulsates with a strong glow. A warm feeling replaces that fear that had been settled in the pit of your stomach. A smile reaches your face.

 

***You tell him that you love him.**

 

Despite the abundance of love you have for your own father, you came to realization as he lifted you up in the air towards the incoming pellets. Your father may never match the love you have for him. You love him, despite how cruel and terrible he can be. Others may regard you as naïve and others will express disappointment towards you, yet you are fine with that.

 

Your eyes meet Flowey’s, and he cackles with a faint grimace.    

 

A ring of fire surrounds you and your father, spinning out and dissipating the incoming pellets before they second can even touch you, and Flowey looks around in shock. It takes only a second for Dad to yank you away from the air and holds you against his chest protectively. There is a crackling of what seems to be fire, and within the dark cavern there is a faint glow of red. Flowey turns around a little too late and gets knocked right out of the ground by a fireball. You don’t know where the flower was knocked to, but you hear frantic footsteps approaching you.

 

“What a miserable creature, torturing such poor, innocent souls.” The sound of a kind voice from the dark shadows of the room calms you, but not your terrified father.

 

Demanding and terrified but masked by anger, he yells to the darkness that surrounds them, “Who’s there?!” His voice echoes through the darkness and there is no response until a tall, furry woman approaches them from a door hidden in the shadows. She offers a kind smile and Dad is put off by the sight of her and holds you tighter.

 

“Do not fear, I am Toriel, sir. I am the caretaker of the Ruins-,” the furred woman, Toriel, does not continue her introduction as her eyes were set on you and your current state. She looks horrified and immediately walks towards with her gaze fixated on you, “child, you are hurt! I am sorry for not coming earlier! Please, allow me to heal you—.”

 

Dad immediately turns sideways, trying to hide you away from her, glaring at the woman with the kind voice, “Stay away from my child, you beast!”

 

Toriel looks to him with a pained look in her eyes. You peek at her over Dad’s shoulder, and you see her amethyst eyes are clouded with reminiscence. The insult Dad had thrown her did not bother her, but something else did. After a few quiet moments, she said in a gentle, soft voice, “…she is your child?”

 

Dad scowls at her, and you interrupted him before he could respond to the kind, furry woman. Rubbing your arm and wincing as you touch the sore bruises, you look up to him, “Daddy, it hurts…”

 

His head tilted down to look at you so fast you were worried that he might have popped his neck. Dad grimaces and hissed quietly, “Put up with it.”

 

Toriel seemed to hear what he said and gave Dad a look of disbelief, “Your child is hurt. Won’t you let me heal your child?” She gives him a begging look, and Dad clenches and unclenches his fists at his side. He’s irritated.

 

“Don’t you dare tell me what’s best for my child—?!” Your hand grip the front of his shirt, tugging it once, and his attention is on you and not on that innocent woman who didn’t deserve to be subjected to his anger. His eyes glare down at you, and his arms that carried you loosens. He wanted to drop you and hit you for interrupting him again. It’s good that Toriel is there to stop it from happening. He takes a deep breath before giving you a curt, “…what?”

 

With your dangerously dimmed heart floating near the left side of your chest, you let go of his shirt and weakly hold up your arms, with the large sleeves falling down to reveal the bruises that screamed of pain to him, “please, daddy? It hurts…”

 

He doesn’t say anything.

 

***You ask him to let Toriel heal you again.**

 

He still doesn’t say anything. You let out a smile.

 

***You tell him that you love him.**

 

Dad roughly puts you down and shoves you towards Toriel, and she immediately crouches and catches you in her warm arms. Turning around in her arms to look at Dad, he glares at the both of you with so much hatred in his eyes. Most of it is directed on you. “Don’t cry to me if she kills you. You don’t know if she’s just like that flower.”

 

“I could never harm such an innocent youth,” Toriel immediately says, but Dad looks the other way as his way of ignoring them both. She returns her attention to you and gives you a soft smile. A smile that fills you with love. She holds you in her arms, and you feel warm and safe. It reminds you of a warm blanket. Her large paws glow with a faint light that was full of warmth, and she holds her paws above your soul. The pain in your body disappears within minutes and your soul glows brightly once again. “Do you feel any better, little one?” Toriel asked and you look up at her.

 

“Thank you!” You wrap your arms around the furred woman with your heart bursting with gratitude. She hums happily as she gently squeezes you back.

 

“It is nothing, I am happy to help,” Toriel says as she lets you go and stands up. You pull your sleeves up, marveling at how the bruises had disappeared. You wonder if she has magic. “It would be best if you both come with me. I shall guide you through the catacombs.”

 

Toriel had pulled you close when she spotted Dad's shaking fists.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand you guys would be disappointed in what the reader is doing. I'm a bit pressed for time so I'll try to talk more about the situation next time. Please leave a kudos and a comment!


	3. You Are Good, But He is Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He hates that you are clingy with Toriel.
> 
> You love and adore how kind and gentle Toriel is with you.
> 
> Her chest tightens when you look at Dad in fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get this chapter out. If it feels rushed, then I apologize. College has been really demanding, even more than before and I was worried I wouldn't even get it out today. Right now I'm frantically typing this down in the library of the campus right after class. I don't want to make this too long of a note, so please go get your favorite snacks, drinks, and pillows and enjoy the story. 
> 
> I look forward to what you think, so please give a comment.

* * *

 

 

It was a miracle that he was convinced to follow them.

 

Toriel kept a firm grip on your hand, occasionally peering down at you. The hall was simply leading you all straight, so it seemed that Toriel had no need to keep her eyes forward, but every few seconds she did, as if she wanted to make sure everything was safe. Every time she looked down at you, you felt compelled to look up and meet her eyes. Each and every time it happened, you gave her a smile.

 

Her big paw was warm and soft, and she was careful not to scratch or hurt you with her claws. It was scary at first when she offered her hand to you, and you had stared at it in hesitation. The gentle smile she gave you filled you with so much love you didn’t think to reject her and took ahold of her hand.

 

Dad wasn’t very happy, as he was oddly quiet the entire walk. You were too afraid to ask him if he was alright.

 

The three of you entered a small room with a closed door made of stone. There were raised cylinder plates in the ground and Toriel let go of your hand. She turned around, probably going to explain what this room was, but she was frozen with her eyes on Dad. You turn around, seeing Dad glaring holes into Toriel. There was a look of disgust written across his features, a grimace splitting across his lips and his fists were shaking. The mood was weird and scary, and you didn’t know what else to do but to call to him.

 

“Daddy?”

 

The disgust across his face grew as he looked to you. He didn’t say anything, and neither did Toriel. You hated it when adults do this. It was like they were speaking silent Pig Latin that kids couldn’t decipher. It wasn’t fair.

 

“What is it?” It wasn’t a question, more of a curt demand. You didn’t think much of it and hurried over to Dad. Once by his side, you proceeded to point over to the raised stone plates with obvious curiosity in your eyes.

 

“Look! What are those?” You asked and Dad rolled his eyes. He didn’t say anything, and you slightly frowned before looking down at your scuffed shoes. Was he…mad at you again? What did you do this time? Why did everything you do make him mad—

 

“Child, over here.”

 

Your attention returned to Toriel, who was standing by the odd stone plates.

 

“Little one, this is a puzzle, and if I were to step on the ones already raised…” Quickly she stepped over specific stone plates and went to pull the lever you hadn’t noticed before. A low rumble could be heard and you looked to the door, watching it slide to the left, “and now we may move to the next room. There are many puzzles in the Ruins, but a bit more difficult than this.”

 

Your curiosity peaked and you hurried over to her side, looking up at Toriel with excitement bubbling off of you, “Wow, really?! That’s so cool! Can I try?” You didn’t give Toriel a chance to say anything as you bounded over to the rest of the raised stone plates, stepping over them. With all the raised plates now pushed down, you looked around to see what would happen. Nothing happened, and that left you very confused as you kept glancing around. The confusion caused Toriel to giggle.

 

Hearing her laugh made you feel warm inside. It was strange, but you liked it.

 

“Unfortunately, child, the puzzle has already been solved. I would have to reset it if you truly wish to solve the puzzle once more,” Toriel crouched down, reaching a paw out towards you, “but there is no time for that. Perhaps later. Let us continue forward.”

 

You look at Toriel, tilting your head to the side. Your eyes shifted from Toriel’s smiling face, then to the offered paw. It was odd as to why you were feeling so shy. She was no longer a stranger to you, after all. Carefully, hoping Toriel wouldn’t notice, you glanced to Dad, hoping he’d nod and silently encourage you. Instead, you were greeted with his angry eyes that bore into your very core.

 

***Take Toriel’s hand.**

 

***Don’t take it.**

 

You return your attention towards Toriel, and you’re surprised by how patient she is. Were adults always this nice? You weren’t sure, but you liked how nice she was. She was so nice.

 

She felt like a…

 

***You take it.**

 

She looked very happy when you did. Dad was the opposite of happy. Your stomach twisted in fear of what he might do when Toriel wasn’t looking, but your heart was filled with love with Toriel’s attention.

 

You were happy.

 

As Toriel walked, you picked up the pace to keep up with her. She was walking as slow as she could and you appreciated it. Your little legs couldn’t keep up with the adults fast pace. Mom and Dad seemed to forget all the time. You glance back, wondering if Dad was following, and he was, although he was walking rather slowly for once.

 

The next room was a long hallway with levers, and Toriel had led you over to the levers you had to pull down. She even lifted you up when you couldn’t reach them. Toriel gave you a proud smile after the spikes at the door disappeared and you puffed your chest out in pride. It was nice making Toriel proud. You felt giddy. Going through the now safe entrance to the next room, you found yourself in yet another hall. The door leading out of this hallway was opened, but next to it was an oddly shaped dummy. You thought it was cute. Toriel let go of your hand, leaving a small pat on your head, before walking to the door and situated herself in front of it.

 

“Little one, when you explore the Ruins, there are many inhabitants that will approach you. I do fear that many of them do not have…good intentions, but do try to strike up a conversation to stall for time and I will come to help resolve the situation as fast as I can,” Toriel instructed rather gently and you were confused when she said ‘ _do not have good intentions_ ’.

 

“ _Your Dad doesn’t have any good intentions._ ” A strange voice chimed, and your eyes snapped wide open. You glance around, confused.

 

Toriel seemed to have noticed, and asked, “Child, what is wrong?”

 

You glanced at her then back at Dad, who had his arms crossed. His lips were pressed tightly together, as if he wasn’t on planning to speak for a while. Rubbing your hands together nervously, you meekly reply, “…nothing.” With a few quick steps, you hopped towards the dummy, hoping to distract Toriel. You stare up at the dummy for a bit before looking to Toriel.

 

“What should I talk about?” You ask, not really sure how to strike up a conversation. You talk with your Dad and your Mom, and now Toriel, but that doesn’t really give you a good idea on what to talk about.

 

Toriel crouched down, giving you a gentle smile, “When I want to have a conversation, I like to greet the person I am going to have a conversation with, but I also like to tell jokes. Would you like to hear one?” You nod your head vigorously, and she laughs, “what does a skeleton put on the roof of his house?” You shrug and she grins, “SHIN-gles!”

 

The joke flies through your head as Dad grimaces.

 

“That was horrible,” Toriel look over to Dad, who was disgusted by Toriel’s joke. Toriel looks slightly offended and stood up from crouching, placing her paws on her hips. She gives him a long stare, like he was a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar before dinner.

 

***You decide to laugh, despite not understanding the joke.**

 

Toriel’s hard stare melts away and she momentarily forgets about Dad as she gently runs her paw over your messy hair. The comfort it brings you warms you up and you wonder if she’ll hug you if you open your arms to her.

 

“I did not know that you enjoyed puns. You are such a smart and clever child to have understood it,” Toriel said, and you felt proud that you made Toriel happy. “Now try and talk with the dummy.”

 

With a nod, you turn to the dummy as Toriel stood up and stepped back. A small tug at your chest gains your attention and you see your heart float out. It’s bright, shining. It’s pretty. You look back at the dummy and huff out your chest in pride.

 

“Hi, Mister Dummy, do you feel okay? You look a little _stuffy_!”

 

Toriel howls in laughter while the dummy says nothing. You began wondering if it was the best idea to start a conversation with a joke when Toriel crouches down next to you with a pleased look.

 

“Ahaha! Wonderful! You are very good!” You wonder what she meant by that, but before you know it, she’s holding her paw out towards you. You feel yourself slowly take her hand, and the both of you walk out the door, assuming Dad was just going to follow you.

 

Before he does, he face the dummy. It stares back at him, not much for conversation. The room around him grows dark as his equally dark heart floats from his chest. His angry hands reach out, grabbing the dummy and ripping it apart with his sheer strength that was driven by hatred and rage. He ignored the stuffing that fell out from the ripped up cloth. It only reminded him of the terrible joke his child had told. Did you happen to like that goat freak more than him, your own father?

 

It made him even angrier and he abandoned the pile of fluff and fabric before leaving the room to follow after the two of you.

 

He saw you crouching in front of a strange frog creature, and you look to be lurching forward as though you plan to play leap frog with a…frog? Your heart was floating in front of your chest, and you had a cheerful smile on your face.

 

“I bet you can hop really well! You could be the leap frog champion!” You complimented and the frog looked to you, with a red hue rising to its slimy face. It didn’t seem to look like it understood English, but it seemed flattered anyway.

 

“Meow.” It croaked in response to your compliment and Dad forced himself not to slap his hand over his forehead at the frog.

 

Thankfully, though he would never thank that furry freak, Toriel had stepped in and glared at the frog. You didn’t seem to notice before the frog jumped away out of intimidation. You pout, looking disappointed before Toriel crouched down next to you, giving you a smile. You look up to her and the second you returned that smile, Dad heard something crack. His eyes are directed towards his heart, and before he can see what happened, it disappeared into his chest. He felt heavier. He felt angrier.

 

“Daddy?”

 

You were in front of him, and he was looking at you. You held a hand out, and he felt like throwing up. It was the same hand that the furry freak had touched.

 

“Give me the other hand,” He grumbled and you give him a confused look but offer your other hand like he asked. He takes it lightly, and you excitedly lead him towards Toriel. She gives Dad a strange look but continues to lead the father-daughter duo into the next room. “How many rooms does this place have?! Where the h*** are you taking us?!” Dad demanded and Toriel gives him a harsh glare.

 

“Please mind your language. There is a child among us,” Toriel scolded as she gives you a sorrowful look. You don’t understand why she gave you that look. Dad grumbled and the second they approached the trap of spikes, Toriel holds her hand out to you, “I believe this puzzle is much too difficult this time. Take my hand.” Dad squeezes your hand, and you falter, but you take her hand eventually. She walked straight into the floor of spikes, but as she grew closer, the spikes darted into the ground, giving her a safe path to walk on. Navigating through the dangerous floor, the spikes only popped back up behind Dad and finally the three of you were safely on the other side. Toriel gave a sigh as she nervously looked back at the spiked floor before looking on ahead, “puzzles seem a little too dangerous now.”

 

You look a bit scared but she gives your tiny hand a gentle squeeze. Dad simply let go of your hand. Your heart deflates a bit, but you keep your smile as Toriel tugs you along. As you all move to the next room, it’s a long hallway.

 

Dad grimaced at yet another hallway and shoved his hands into his pocket, feeling a half crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter sitting in his pocket. He didn’t know how much time exactly passed, but he felt like it had been hours with all this walking. His stomach had been slightly calling for his attention, and if he knew his own child, you were probably hungry too. His eyes narrowed at you, as you focus your attention at Toriel. He decided you were too busy adoring that furry freak to even think about your stomach. Disgusting.

 

“You have done excellently thus far, my child.” Dad gripped the lighter in his hand, tightening his fingers and palm around it. He could feel his arm strain at just how constricted he was clenching his hand around the object in his pocket, looking at that disgusting monster in hatred. Did she call his child HER child? Did she forget that he was here? That he was the father of you. That your real mother was back up in the real world? You didn’t seem to think much of it, and Dad felt his shoulders shake. Of course you wouldn’t. You were a child, of course. You did not know what she meant by that nor did you notice, and yet he thought of you as the biggest moron for not correcting her.

 

You were HIS child. Not HERS.

 

“Really, Miss Toriel?” You asked and she nods with that motherly smile of hers.

 

“Yes, however… I have a difficult request to ask of you.” Dad crossed his arms. He wondered of what this monster would ask for. It was possible she may ask to be your mother from now on, and abandon him in this tacky purple hall. Or she would ask for the valuables he had on his person as payment for leading them through the Ruins. Or worse, she’d probably attack them and make the father and daughter her next meal.

 

“What is it?” You asked and Toriel looks rather hesitant before rubbing her paws together. Dad could only wait before she pounced and turn them both into a casserole.

 

“I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself.” Well he did not expect that, Dad admitted to himself as he watched Toriel turn away from you. She took rather big and long steps, suddenly being considerably far from your reach, “forgive me for this.” She took off and already the both of you could see her retreating form disappear.

 

Thoughts of taking a much needed cigarette break erupts in Dad’s mind once he believes Toriel is gone and he hastily takes out the cigarette box. “Finally she’s gone.” Dad growled as he shakes out a cigarette when you suddenly took off into the long hall. His eyes almost popped out of his eye sockets, watching your retreating form almost disappear into the freakishly long hallway. “HEY!” Dad yelled in a scolding manner and he forgets about the cigarette.

 

He never knew how fast you could run, and already his lower back and knees were aching in pain. His eyes didn’t tear away from your small form as you hurried towards the end, your practically falling apart shoes pounding against the ground in quick thuds. Anyone else would have been stumbling in those crummy shoes, but apparently his kid was gifted in running in trash. “F***ing slow down!!” With that tone, you did stop in your tracks by the pillar. Dad leaned against the pillar, catching his breath as you stared up at him. He gave you a harsh glare, and you knew you were in trouble. Perhaps you could ask Toriel to get out of the punishment? Adults always listen to other adults, right?

 

“Sorry, Daddy…” You apologized as he shook his head and ignored you for the moment, trying to rest his quickened breath. Awkwardly, you stood there, not knowing what else to say. If you apologized to Dad again, he’d yell at you for repeating yourself. He called it annoying, but you couldn't help but repeat your apologies at times. Rocking onto the heel of your dirty sneakers, you glance up at the white pillar that contrasted against the purple bricks and the green vines that cascaded down the walls. It really looked out of place, which made your curiosity peak. You glanced around it, only to jump back with a startled look.

 

“Boo!” Toriel stepped out from behind the pillar, with a playful smile on her face. “Greetings, my child!” Dad sucked in a harsh breath, as though her sudden presence surprised him more than it should. You cheer her name out and she gives a soft smile while crouching down before you, “See? I have not left you alone. I was simply hiding behind this pillar.”

 

“Why did you go, though?” You asked and she reaches out, stroking your hair with her big paw.

 

“I wanted to test your independence.” Toriel explained and you tilt your head to the side, wondering what ‘independence’ meant. Dad merely frowned at her explanation.

 

“Oh yeah, telling a child to go to the end of the room and they do it is a way of testing their independence,” Dad mocks and Toriel says nothing to him. She simply continues to focus on you. Realizing that she was ignoring him, Dad says nothing either. You could feel him stewing in anger.

 

Toriel stands up and claps her paws together, “I have a favor to ask of you, my child.” You give her your full attention, and she looks thankful for that, “I want you to stay here with your father, my child. I have some business to attend to. I won’t be more than half an hour. Do you think you could wait for me?”

 

“You’re going away again?” The disappointment in your voice seems to spark the mother inside of Toriel as she reaches out and pets your hair once again.

 

“Yes, but I will be back. As I said before, I will not be gone too long.”

 

You’re not too happy. You like Toriel. She was very nice, and when she had left before, you were afraid. Afraid to be with Dad alone. Toriel continues to give you that patient smile of hers, and you trot over to her, grabbing at her blue robes, “do you really have to?”

 

“Yes, my child. I will not be gone too long.” The frown never left your face and Toriel sighs gently, “but if you wait like a good little girl, I will give you a surprise.” Your eyes dart up to meet hers, giving her a look of hesitation. “It will be a good surprise. Be good for your father, alright?”

 

You give her a smile before looking back at your stone faced father, looking back to her.

 

“Okay…”

 

“Hold out your hand, my child,” Toriel asked of you, and you held out your sleeve. She reached out and rolled up your long sleeves up to your elbow before setting some sort of black rectangular box in your hand. It was heavy and you had no idea what it was. “This is a cellphone. Do you know how to use it?” When you shake your head, she holds the cellphone up and flips it open, showing you a grid of buttons. After a quick tutorial (the gears in your brain started to move), you learned that the numbers can dial a phone number, the green button answers a call or make a call after you plug a phone number, and the red button can cancel or end a call. “I will be back as soon as I can, my child. Stay here and be safe.”

 

“Okay! Bye-bye!” You watched her leave, waving goodbye, hoping that the many minutes she would be away would be over in a flash. The cellphone in your hand is now resting in your pocket of your stitched up shorts, and patiently, you lean against the pillar. “Don’t you think Toriel’s nice, Daddy?”

 

His shadow loomed over you and you looked up.

 

“Daddy?”

 

* * *

* * *

 

Heavy breathing escapes your mouth in little puffs, vision coming in and out of focus as the darkness pulled them in. There was hot pain glowing from underneath your back and the front of your stomach. In what lack of light to guide your eyesight, all you could see was a few droplets of blood falling on the ground. You raise a hand up and gingerly touch your chin, pulling back and seeing your fingers smeared with blood.

 

Your throat is dry and hoarse from the crying and the screams.

 

You could hear him light something, then that familiar, awful scent filled your nostrils. It was gross and thick, and you didn’t think you could breathe.

 

Dad had lit his cigarette, taking a long drag of the cheap stick. Ignoring the crumpled girl on the ground near the pillar, he walked on ahead, hoping a walk through the rest of the Ruins would clear his mind. His lips cradled the cigarette quite lovingly, taking in small puffs of the cancer smoke. His lungs, now filled with it, Dad exhaled with a satisfied smile.

 

“Baby girl, it’s bad if you stay here and inhale this. Daddy’ll go and smoke somewhere else. Stay here.” Though they were sweet words, he said them quite mockingly.

 

As he headed in further, he found his path almost covered in red leaves. A similar frog from before had hopped into his peripheral range of vision. It caught sight of him and hopped towards him. With his mind and lungs poisoned with cancer-inducing smoke, he felt calmer. He felt clearer. Despite that, anger bubbles in the pit of his stomach that this frog monster could be the one that his child had been kind to.

 

***He was filled with hate at the idea that you were kind to a monster.**

 

His foot stomped down at the frog, watching it croak underneath the sheer amount of power and weight he put into the stomp. The cancer stick stuck out between his lips, and his eyes were focused yet clouded. Pulling his foot away, he watched the frog fall over, shifting into a pile of dust before his eyes.

 

The black heart was pulled out from his chest, glowing and crackling in the amount of execution points he was gaining.

 

“I change my mind…” Dad muttered as he walked through the small patch of dust, not caring if it caught onto his pants.

 

The Ruins didn’t seem too boring and lengthy anymore to him.


	4. The Scent A Real Mom Would Have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad I could get this chapter out. I've been writing it a little bit every chance I got, but I was so worried I wouldn't get it out until after the semester of college was over.
> 
> I don't want to get boo'ed out of this website, so here's a nice chapter.
> 
> By nice, I mean "here's a ticket to Feeladelphia".

His heavy footsteps crushed the pile of dust in his wake. The Whimsun struggled to fly away to escape the dark figure but instead frantically crawled across the ground, its wings having been crushed mercilessly. It whimpered and shed tears, continuing to crawl towards the next room with hope of escaping. It heaved and shifted across the ground quickly, seeing the entrance to the next room just within its reach.

 

“I really do hate bugs.”

 

In its peripheral vision, Whimsun saw the shoe belonging to the human blocking its way. It was covered in dust.

 

“They’re annoying.”

 

His foot stomped next to Whimsun, causing the poor little monster to cry out in fear.

 

“They’re loud."

 

Dad crouched before the monster, reaching out towards it with a smile. Whimsun could only stare with a tremble as those dusty fingers came closer and closer. The smile on the human’s face grew more sinister, and Whimsun cried out loudly, biting down on the offensive hand.

 

Quickly drawing his hand back, Dad glared at the sobbing monster in disgust as he cradled his hand, seeing blood beading around the bite marks.

 

“And they bite.”

 

He reached out, grabbing Whimsun, and holding the little monster against the wall. His child would dare to have been kind to a monstrosity such as this. The thoughts of his daughter filled him with anew hatred and began to repeatedly slam the Whimsun into the wall.

 

**A g a i n,**

 

**a g a i n,**

 

**A** _n_ **D**

 

**a** _G_ **a** _I_ **n…**

 

He had lost track of how many times he had crushed the monster against the harsh surface of the wall, but he only stopped when he felt dust slipping through his fingers. Dad stepped away from the wall and dusted his fingers. It look many moments until he realized that the powder wouldn’t get off of his sweaty hands and once again resorted to wiping them off his pants.

 

His hands never stayed clean for long, as he would always spot another monster trying to get away.

 

Despite the time that had passed by, he could hear the faint ringing of a cellphone. In all honesty, he had not strayed very far from his child. The cigarette was long gone, the butt of it tossed away carelessly when he had finished his much needed smoke break. He could have returned, to see why she wasn’t answering the monster’s cellphone.

 

He kept telling himself to go back and check on her, but his legs only brought him to another cowering monster.

 

_Check on her._

 

His hand raised up at the Loox that was staring up at him in paralyzing fear with that giant eye.

 

_Check on her!_

 

The repeated motion of slamming his fists down on the defenseless creature was hypnotizing. He couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to. It felt _amazing_. Already he felt the monster disintegrating into that familiar dust. It was already coating his hands and knees as he continued to beat down on the screaming monster. He dared for any monsters to come and save their own kind from him. The first few that dared to do so had already learned the hard way of trying to be a hero.

 

**C** _h_ **E** _c_ **K** _o_ **N** _h_ **E** _r_ **!!!**

 

The ringing of the cellphone stopped again, and then it picked up again. This time, he heard footsteps, and the sound of the rings that resounded with each other caused his heart to quicken its pace. That goat was coming, wasn’t she?

 

She was going to see what he had done, wasn’t she?

 

She was definitely going to be another victim, wasn’t she?

 

“What have you done…?!”

 

Stepping around the pile of dust, he could feel the goat monster’s eyes burn on him. His fingers twitched and flexed. The phone was in her hands, and he wanted to laugh as he noticed her giving him that look of disgust.

 

Not so sweet, was she?

 

Orbs of flames sprouted like fiery blossoms around her, and she gives him a look of anger and fear. Fear that he couldn’t understand. Was it for him, or was it for someone else? He looked at the fire with disinterest. She could kill him, couldn’t she?

 

For some reason, dying didn’t interest him at the moment anymore. Which was strange, as before, he was ready to sacrifice his only child to live just a bit longer against a little flower. Pathetic.

 

A flash of fire flitted past him, and his eyes focused on Toriel, seeing her brandishing her fire magic like it was a blade. The deadly warmth spread across his cheeks, singing a song of singes. His energy drained just a bit, and his SOUL dimmed in whatever light there was left. He raised a hand, carefully placing the tip of his fingers against his burning cheek, only to pull back with a hiss of pain. He was tempted to call her all the bad words he could think of, but only one statement seemed to be more suitable than all the profanities he’d like the burn onto her disgusting fur.

 

A daughter stealer; that title seemed fitting for Toriel, he thought.

 

Toriel tried so hard to not inhale a breath of stale air. She didn’t want to breathe. The dust floating in the air mocked her of her mistake. It could suffocate her lungs. Right in front of her, not so far away, stood a human. Not just any human, but an adult. This human was an adult, and he was capable of bringing forth genocide among monsters if he so chose.

 

In retrospect, she knew she should not have left him alone with all the other monsters crawling around, especially when he showed a strong disgust towards monsters. She knew, yet she did not take extra precaution. Toriel felt her shoulders shake, feeling the dust being placed on her hands because of her poor choice. She was the caretaker, and she had failed to take care of the safety of the inhabitants of the Ruins. It brought complete fury to her emotions every time she angrily glanced to him, seeing that uncaring look. She knew he did not care for what he had done, and more than likely was planning to do the same to her because she had scorched his cheek. With a dry smile, she had a funny feeling he was planning to turn her into dust either way.

 

The tiny voice in the back of her head asked her why she had not taken precaution with this grown man. Why did she allow this genocide to happen? She knew it would have happened, and naively, she replied to this tiny voice that she…

 

She thought he would avoid violence with his child so near. Toriel felt her heart break, knowing that child was nowhere to be seen. So many frightening possibilities grew in her mind, and she desperately tried to keep herself together. She tried, but the fire blooming from her magic flickered and grew.

 

His uncaring smile.

 

The child’s innocent grin.

 

With bitter tears, she cried out to him. She cried out to the man ignoring her. She should never have left you with him. She knew what kind of person he was just by looking at him and his actions. She knew, she knew, she knew…

 

She knew she shouldn’t have left you.

 

“WHERE IS SHE?!”

.

.

**That got his attention.**

.

.

He took his sweet time answering her. He didn’t have to answer her, but the cold sweat profusely running down his body made his own self grow incredibly scared and nervous. He wanted to know. Were you alive? Dead? Did he kill you with his own bare hands?

 

An eerie smile grew across his face, and Toriel was ready to burn him alive depending on his answer.

 

“…exactly where you left her.”

 

He didn’t react when Toriel hurried past him, going to that room where he last saw you. It was strange to see that look of apprehension on Toriel’s face. Who is she, your mother? No, she wasn’t.

 

He found himself following after her.

 

* * *

 

It hurts.

 

The world appeared to have faded away.

 

Your body glowed in the pain from the blossoming bruises across your stomach. You never saw his fists coming when you had looked up at him. Your hands run over your shirt, and you cringe at the sudden screech the bruises responded with.

 

If Toriel hadn’t left, he wouldn’t have done this, would he?

 

You don’t pin the blame on her. Instead, you try to sit up. The bruises on your stomach cries for you to stop, and you want to plop right onto your back, but for some reason you feel determination driving you to keep going. The feeling of being determined was foreign and familiar. You were determined in different ways.

 

You were always determined to love Dad and Mom, no matter how wrong they and the world are.

 

Finally, you’re sitting up and you let out a whine. You want the pain to stop. It keeps going. Make it stop. You don’t know how. Does kissing it make it better? Does a little bit of real affection make it go away?

 

You had no idea, but you know Toriel could make it happen.

 

You’re suddenly afraid. Was it okay for you to think nice things about her? What if Dad found out? He would be mad, very mad, wouldn’t he? You stare at your lap, feeling your bangs fall messily into your face.

 

You want to cry.

 

So you do.

 

***You cry out for someone.**

 

You felt lonely and scared. Dad left you behind. Angry and destructive. Frightening like a snake curling back to attack. A lion prowling for his next meal. The opened closet in the middle of the night.

 

You want to stop being scared, but you can’t. Not alone. Rubbing your hands soothingly on your lap in a poor attempt to calm yourself down, you feel the tears falling down your face. It’s so scary. It’s so lonely.

 

Then you hear footsteps and you freeze.

 

***Someone came.**

 

“My child…! There you are!”

 

***You feel yourself filled with love.**

 

You couldn’t even turn around when she lifted you off the ground so lovingly with a gentle touch like you were her very own child. You don’t stop crying and the pain is suddenly gone when she hugs you. Your arms wrapped around her neck as best as you could, and you find yourself immersed in the scent of sweetness and cinnamon.

 

It’s the smell you always imagined a mother would smell like.

 

You feel so safe and warm. Loving and serene. A cat curled up around her kittens. Cuddling up in a cozy bed on a snowy night with hot cocoa and stories filled with fluffy bunnies. The picnic basket on top of a hill on a sunny day.

 

Toriel is saying something, but you don’t hear her. You’re so enveloped in love and warmth that you can’t fit anything else into your mind. You’re occupied of her existence and nothing else. You feel saved.

 

“…Mommy…”

 

Toriel’s arms cradle you and she looks down at you in disbelief at your words. You don’t think much, but once you do, you’re afraid again. Nervous. You called her Ma, despite having your real Mom at home on the surface…but the cinnamon sweet scent...you’re trying not to get distracted by the scent of what you always imagined a mother would smell like. You can’t help but choke back tears.

 

“You…you called me…mom?” Instead of correcting you, like you thought she would, she runs her furry finger against your cheek to wipe away any tears that had fallen. Were you crying? “Would that make you happy? To call me your mother…?”

 

She doesn’t realize how happy it would make you.

 

***You tell her yes.**

 

You find yourself engulfed in a hug, with Toriel burying her face in your hair. You think she’s crying, and you also think you hear her saying she’ll protect you from Dad.

 

A smile reaches your face, and you hug her back as best as you can. It’s quiet for a while until her arms around you weakens. Then she’s shaking a bit. Wavering. Unsteadily. You call out for her, and she bleats out in pain, slumping over to the side. You fall with her, eyes on her.

 

“Mommy?!” You pat your small hands on her face, and her shaking eyes stay on you. You don’t know what’s wrong with her, until a shadow looms over you. Your eyes widen further, seeing him staring down at you with eyes full of disgruntlement.

 

“You called a monster…mommy?” You cry out as he reaches out for you, painfully tearing you away from Toriel’s side. You scream out for her, repeatedly calling out for Toriel to save you. Each and every time, you called her by the title that your own mother never earned.

 

“MOOOOMMMY!!!!”

 

Toriel’s eyes are closed, and you think she’s asleep.

 

Just like Mom.

 

Dad reaches out and grabs the knife from the back of Toriel’s neck.

 

Just like Mom.

 

The knife flies down at you.

 

* * *

 

_You’re floating in darkness. All alone. There is blood pooling in the middle of your chest, staining your shirt._

 

_It doesn’t hurt anymore._

 

_Someone calls out for you._

 

_You look, and see the skeleton head from before. He is waving for you._

 

“ R e S e T . . . ”

 

_You don’t understand what he’s saying, and the more you listen, the more you can’t understand him anymore. His words cling together like static, and it begins to hurt to even listen. You cover your eyes and shut your eyes. The cold darkness wafts over you in an oddly com_ _forting way. It doesn’t hurt anymore the more you ignore him and everything else. You don’t feel pain any longer. You don’t feel anything at all._

 

_You tune out the skeleton man’s words and find yourself turning upright, like you were standing._

 

_Everything wasn’t okay, but you can pretend it is now._

 

_You crouch down and tuck your head on your knees. The blood doesn’t stop falling from the jagged cavity in your chest, and you close your eyes._

 

***Your determination is gone.**

 

_You feel alone now. You want to feel that the skeleton man is gone now._

 

* * *

 

***You don’t feel alone for some reason.**

 

Looking up, you see someone standing there. They’re a tad taller than you, with a dark blue sweater with two purple stripes running across it. They have dark brown hair cut in a bowl hairstyle, with messy bangs falling over their eyes. You tense up, but relax when they give you a smile. A gentle smile. The same kind of gentleness Toriel gave you. Returning with a smile of your own, you wave at them,

 

“Hello!”

 

They raise their hands up, making some sort of sign, with a patient smile. You don’t understand what they’re doing, and they seem to realize that. They hold a hand out towards you, and you stare at it with hesitation.

.

.

.

***Take the child’s hand.**

***Don’t take the child’s hand.**

.

.

.

***You don’t take it.**

.

.

.

You don’t know where Dad is. You don’t know where you are, but you feel like he’s watching you. If he saw you taking someone else’s hand, he’d hit you again. With the knife. You know he will. You give the older kid an apologetic look, and they still offer you a patient smile. It soothes you to know that they don’t hate you for not taking their hand.

 

Moments of silence pass the both of you by, and you get up from the spot you were crouching in for what seemed to be an eternity. You nervously stand there, staring at the older child. They have their eyes closed, and their face isn’t very expressive, but that smile still warms you.

 

“Where am I…?” You ask, and they make strange motions with their hands. It looked like they were making weird shapes with their hands. “I…don’t know what you’re doing with your hands.”

 

They stopped and reached out for you, and you step back. Their face suddenly shifts into an expression of determination. You step back. They step forward. Again, and again, and again. Until you stop, and they finally touch your shoulders.

 

You thought they were going to hit you, but instead they bend down and kiss you on the forehead.

 

“St…stay deter…mined. Re…set…”

 

Their voice wasn’t smooth like Toriel’s, but it still had the same effect of being soothing. They stepped back and held out their hand.

.

.

.

***Take the child’s hand.**

***Don’t take the child’s hand.**

.

.

.

***You take it.**

.

.

.

The child gives your hand a gentle squeeze and points forward. You follow the direction the older child is pointing at, and your eyes spot a light of white.

 

It’s your SOUL.

 

Holding out your hand in a cupping motion, you watch as it floats into your hand. The older child pushes your hand to your chest, and the SOUL melds perfectly into the cavity of your chest. The bleeding stopped and you feel warm, not cold. The child squeezes your hand comfortably and determination builds up in you.

 

Your SOUL doesn’t stop glowing and your eyes grow heavy.

 

Another pair of hands are placed against your cheeks and you see red eyes staring back at you.

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

You wake up in the middle of a patch of those familiar, golden flowers.

 

***You are filled with love.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure a lot of you want me dead. 
> 
> Comment your feelings and leave some kudos to show me love. Or hate. Or confusion. Or anything.
> 
> I love how this chapter turned out. With how the Reader compares the Dad to unpleasant things, and compares Toriel to wonderful things. And I'm sure that everyone would believe that the scent of cinnamon and sugar would be the scent of loving mothers.


	5. Little Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So you can RESET. Flowey expected that.
> 
> What he didn't expect is that you still show concern for that man.
> 
> Even though you were killed by that man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. I should have updated sooner. But I didn't. I didn't know how to go about this chapter. 
> 
> However, I have some good news. I have a Twitter you can follow me at, if you have one. I even have an Instagram. A Tumblr, too, but I don't use it. I'll post some links here eventually.

The thick yellow pollen sticks all over you as you scoot away from Dad. In the weak sunlight that streamed down from far above, the pollen flies around like acrobatics swinging slowly through syrup.

 

Coughs escape you. It's hard to breathe. You're scared, and you don't know what to do.

 

“So you can reset…?”

 

Your head turns, and you see Flowey. This prompts you to scoot back, with heaving gasps and coughs escaping you. Flowey grimaces.

 

He takes a long time, like he's struggling to say something. He's thinking carefully.

 

“Do you know what's going on?” Flowey asks.

 

“Don't hurt me,” you whimpered.

 

Everyone, but Toriel and the monsters in The Ruins, want to hurt you. You are sure of yourself that Flowey’s going to hurt you with his friendliness pellets.

 

Flowey studies you, and for a second he feels himself experiencing pity. Pity for a clearly broken child who has experienced death once. Though the emotions do not stay. They never stay.

 

“Don't hurt Daddy!” You choke out.

 

Flowey snaps.

 

“Golly…!” Flowey grins, and at the drop of a hat, it turns right into a snarl, “You must be a real IDIOT to still want to protect that monster! He killed you! And you still want to protect him?” Flowey spat in disgust as you tremble at his yelling. To think that a small flower could be so loud…! “He’s going to kill you again. And again. And again! If you don't wake up and face the music, then I’ll kill you myself. Again, and again!”

 

You stare at him, at the flower that's taking deep breaths. Flowey is disturbed by how confused you look. Are you really that dumb? Or are you -?

 

“...wh...what does... _kill_...mean?”

 

…

 

That faint white outline of a heart is etched over the left side of your chest. Your SOUL is still inside of you, and it's burning so brightly that Flowey can see it without even trying to look for it. Your SOUL. It's basically a drug to him. The second he saw it, when he got near it, he’s begun to feel things he thought he’d never get to feel again unless he made a miracle happen.

 

A miracle that could almost never happen. Not with this circumstances.

 

The color white should belong to only monsters. They are, after all, composed of magic and love that holds together to create a mass. Their presence.

 

Imagine Flowey’s surprise and disgust when he sees you with a white soul.

 

The affinity of your SOUL gives off a warm, loving feeling. Though it was incredibly weak because of that doomed save.

 

As of now, he is wrapped around your arm, guiding you through the catacombs. You were convinced that your father would be fine, and talked into leaving his side, though you asked Flowey to help you find Toriel.

 

You couldn't stop thinking about Toriel. You wanted to look for her.

 

Flowey, much to his annoyance, agreed but only if you get him a monster candy from the candy bowl.  When you find it, you give him one and save a piece for yourself. Flowey glares at you until you open it for him, and he crunches at it mindlessly while you pop yours in your mouth before nearly spitting it out. It tasted almost like black licorice. Flowey makes fun of you, and you call him mean.

 

He hisses at you.

 

…

 

He wakes up, and he checks his hands, then checks his knife. The blood is not there.

 

You're not there.

 

His backside is caked in yellow pollen, and he doesn't bother patting it down because a trail of the same powdery stuff leads to the tunnel that he remembers Toriel leading you through.

 

Bile rises, threatening to burn his throat and back of the tongue with stomach acid. He needed to find you. He didn't know why. Parental instinct? He laughed at that thought, though…

 

His mind nagged at him, and his feelings ached for something.

 

Like his SOUL was screaming out for something.

 

…

 

With Flowey’s help, you managed to get through many of the puzzles in The Ruins. He grumbles every time you ask for his help but complies whenever you keep looking around or jumping in fright whenever a monster inhabiting The Ruins comes out to scare you for good fun. You're jittery, and antsy.

 

You're scared Daddy will come.

 

You're wondering where Toriel is.

 

Flowey could tell. You're easy to read on your young, expressive face. For the sake of being close to your SOUL, he takes you step by step on solving the puzzle.

 

Midway through you asking a rock to kindly stay where they are, he thinks of something that he should have thought of before.

 

He could steal your SOUL, and be done with it. It was a good plan. He could steal yours, and that other human, and take the other remaining SOULS in Asgore’s castle once the opportunity comes.

 

It's perfect!

 

The opportunity comes when you tumble through the ground, the floor so brittle and weak from the years that worn away and unable to carry your weight, and land in a thin pile of leaves. Flowey struggled to escape from under you, and with an angry grumble he succeeds while you are still on the ground.

 

Flowey stares at your form before cursing under his breath. Great, he couldn't believe his luck. You knocked yourself unconscious from that fall. Fantastic, he sarcastically thinks as he comes closer, staring at your chest to see the SOUL shatter into pieces like glass.

 

It never happens.

 

Your chest is moving up and down. You're still breathing. Although shallow.

 

It takes a long time, and he hears Toriel walk around the leaves. She takes notice of the hole in the ground, but something takes her attention, apparently. Flowey hears her gasp and hurry off deeper towards the area where Dad was at.

 

Finally.

 

Finally, you woke up, and Flowey is almost blissful.

 

“ _Nnnngh_ …. _nnnngggg_ …” You gurgle as Flowey realizes that you not only hit your head pretty bad, but you _broke_ your neck. He wonders, maliciously, how long it would take for you to stop breathing and die. He doesn't pay attention to the screech from above, he’s more focused on the gurgles from your miserable, pathetic body.

 

“ _Haaugh_ …” You pass out from the pain. Flowey readies himself to take your Soul, and its only when he hears someone jump down and land behind his tiny form that he freezes in fear.

 

“Baby...girl?”

 

No. No. Please, no.

 

…

 

Dad is standing there, covered in dust and pollen. It's vague. But. He remembers being here before.

 

The puzzles are already solved for him. The cave is rather linear. All he has to do is f o l l o w t h e . . . . .

 

The trail stops when he stands before the ground.

 

There's a hole.

 

That goat woman is there, too. She looks to the hole with a curious gaze, but she notices him and gasps.

 

“A fallen human…?” She asks with a shocked gaze before looking at him more carefully, already registering his disgusted, enraged face. “Do...I...know you? You seem so familiar.”

 

It's driving him nuts. This...freak of nature standing before him should terrify him! He’s never seen a real monster before. He’s not scared, though. Because she’s so familiar. He grasps at his forehead, yanking at his head.

 

Why?

 

Why?

 

WHy?

 

WhY?!

 

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?!

 

WHY DOES THIS DEMON SEEM SO FAMILIAR?!

 

He’s frantic. He’s forcing himself to remember, and the second Toriel tries to get close, he’s already pulling out his army knife and stabbing through her blue robes. She screeches and he continues to stab and stab and cut and end this nightmare.

 

It's deja vu. He remembers doing this. Her screaming. His grunts. The knife plunging through her fur and into her flesh.

 

It's when she's crying does he remember something. Something that justifies everything.

 

“You stole something from me.”

 

He doesn't acknowledge her last words and he falls to the ground of where she once was. The dust sticks to him, and he tries to dust it off, but it clings to him.

 

He gets up and he hears something so faint, he almost believed he could have walked away from it.

 

“ _Haaugh….”_

 

It's coming from the hole. One peek and he’s horrified to see you in such a state. It's quite a drop, but he doesn't care as he jumps down and sees a flower with you. That doesn't concern him as he looks at you in terror.

 

You fell.

 

Now you're dying.

 

“Baby...girl?”

 

The flower glances back and it looks terrified of Dad. Suddenly the flower turns back to you, vines breaking out of the ground and spiralling around you.

 

Flowey doesn't have time to waste. He just needs your SOUL! Flowey didn't seem to take into account as Dad’s knife swings at him. Flowey ducks back into the ground in angered annoyance, and pops back up several feet away from Dad.

 

The vines are wrapping around your white SOUL, and Flowey could almost taste it.

 

“LEAVE HER ALONE!”

 

His knife plunged right into your SOUL and it shatters. Flowey screams. The sentient flower doesn't know if it's out of anger, or out of fright.

 

S L O W L Y . . .

 

B U T . . .

 

S U R E L Y . . .

  
Everything resets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not looking too good, now is it?
> 
> How will the next reset go about?


	6. A Warm Hug

“It’s been quite a while since you last reset, stupid.”

 

Your eyelids flutter open, and it takes a while before you realize you’re back in the bed of golden flowers. You feel tired, and make yourself sit up, staring at the annoyed flower. Flowey glowers at you before switching his gaze onto someone else. Dad-

 

No. That man is sleeping in the golden flowers right next to you. His chest rise and falls, sleeping soundly. You could go for a nap right now, but you’re too scared that he’ll hurt you if you sleep. 

 

“Do you know how long I was waiting for you to come back? It felt like months! What kept you from resetting?” Flowey demands, but quickly lowers his voice. Even he didn’t want to wake up that monster. “Let’s get out of here.”

 

You shake your head. You don’t want to leave. This man is going to wake up and chase you, and hurt you again. And again. And again and again and again. You’re tired of it already. Dad can just...do it again quickly. As long as you can go to sleep again. Flowey glances to you, almost disgusted and hurt.

 

“So you’d rather stay here and let him hurt you? You’re not even gonna put up a fight?” Flowey finds himself snarling at you, almost despising you and your existence.

 

You nod, hugging yourself. It’s easier. It’s still scary...but at least he won’t hurt you even more if you run. Your hand reaches and touches your throat, it ached for some reason. 

 

“Don’t you even understand that he’s not supposed to hit you?!” Both you and Flowey recoil when the man twitches. Several seconds later, you both hear peaceful snoring and you share a sigh of relief with the living flower. “He’s not supposed to hit you. At all.”

 

Not at all?

 

That man does it all the time. Isn’t it normal to hurt? You had thought about it. He hurts you a lot. He scares you a lot. It was a routine, and you were almost expecting him to wake up and hit you. It hurts worse if you run and if he has to chase you, then it’ll hurt even more. 

 

“A Dad...a Dad is nice. He’s not…” Flowey dives back into the ground, popping up beside you. “If we go, I’ll let you have half the candy bowl. Let’s go. Let’s leave. You can tell Toriel.”

 

Toriel will also get hurt. You can’t do that. She’s too nice. You love her.

 

“She can protect you.”

 

You love her. But you don’t want your Dad to hurt her, too. 

 

“I’m trying to be nice here, you know!” Flowey’s almost frantic. Why is he so concerned for this human child? He wants her SOUL, nothing else. He’s not aiming to be some therapist. “Stop being so stupid and run!”

 

If you run, he’ll hurt every monster on the way to finding you.

 

“Think about yourself!”

 

He’ll hurt Flowey, too.

 

“I never met such an idiot in my life.” Flowey tried to sneer, but his lowered head barely hid the tears welling up on his face. “I’m trying to kill you, and you’re still...concerned about all of us. And me? I don’t understand you. I don’t...understand?”

 

You reach out and stroke Flowey’s petals. He almost leans into your hand.

 

“You can reset a million times, but it’ll be just the same. He’s gonna kill you and you’ll live through this over and over again. But you know that,” Flowey looks up at you, “don’t you?”

 

Being ‘kill’ hurts. It’s scary. He’ll never stop, will he?

 

“Let’s go...please?” The flower’s voice is almost quiet, but you can hear him. Crawling out of the flower patch, you get up and walk to Flowey, the pollen falling behind you like fairy dust. “Finally. Looks like you do have a brain after all. Come on, let’s get out of here!”

 

You take a moment to brush off the pollen as best as you could before following Flowey told you to leave the room. So you did, and just as you stepped out of the room, Flowey had your Dad in the air, held by a vine wrapped around his neck. Dad’s eyes snapped open the second the vines squeezed his neck tight. 

 

“Wh-What are you doing? Let me go!!”

 

“ **WoUlDn’T dReAm Of It, FiLtHy HuMaN** .” Flowey darkly snickered at the flailing human before the vines snapped the man’s throat. Releasing the gargling man, Flowey scoffed at the twitching body. The black SOUL was right there, but as Flowey’s vines went to cultivate it, it broke into a million pieces. “Are you kidding me?!” He wanted to shred this human’s body into pieces. Useless! The vines pick up the dying human and tosses him around, crushing the flowers in the process. Useless! “What good are you if you can’t even give me your SOUL-!”

 

You call out to Flowey, and he snaps out of his livid state, dropping the body into the flowers and kicking up a golden cloud of pollen.

 

He freezes, and he looks back at you, feeling almost...hopeful. You still have a SOUL. Nice and ripe for the picking. Or is it? Flowey takes a breath, sinking into the ground before popping up next to you. 

 

“Carry me.” Flowey demands, and you offer your hand, which he instantly wraps around his vines and stems around it before resting his flowery head on your shoulder. 

 

He’ll make you strong.

 

Your SOUL won’t break.

 

And then…

 

He’ll take it.

 

“Let’s go.” Flowey said as you glance to him. You hurry down the hall, trying to run as fast as you can with your numb legs without falling. Of course, Flowey gets annoyed so he tells you to slow down, “He’s not going to follow us. He’s just...sleeping. He’s in a really deep sleep. And he won’t wake up, so you can just walk.”

 

***You ask him if he’s telling the truth.**

 

Flowey takes a second before nodding to you.

 

“Now keep walking. Remember to fill your pockets with candy, okay?”

 

And so you kept walking. Flowey made himself comfortable on your shoulder as you made your way down the familiar cavern path, the lavender bricks and pillars stretching out above you like tall buildings of a city. A Froggit jumps along your path and you greet it, before watching it croak at you and hurrying along in a friendly manner. Smells like frogs, you thought.

 

“I want to see Toriel again.” You finally say and Flowey’s eyes snap open, staring right at you. You meet his gaze and smile. “She’ll be nice to you too.”

 

“...I know that…” Flowey grumbles under his breath before closing his eyes. “Better not get used to her, though.”

 

What did he mean by that?

 

You didn’t focus on that too long as you heard footsteps approaching from the front.

 

“A human child...here in The Ruins?”

 

Your head snaps forward, seeing Toriel looking right at you. She has a tender, worried gaze in her eyes with a twinkle of familiarity. Your SOUL glows warm in your chest, and you approach her slowly. 

 

“Are you okay?” She asked you, noticing the monster wrapped around your arm. It doesn’t look like that strange flower monster was hurting the human. The flower monster had its face buried into your shoulder, refusing to look at her. Toriel gave a gentle smile. “It’s okay,” She held her arms out to you, “you must have fallen down, haven’t you? It’s alright, I’ll keep you safe. I would never hurt you. Come here.”

 

You know she’d never hurt you. You believe it with every fiber of your being, and immediately you run and throw yourself into her arms. Flowey lets out a hiss as you wrap your arms around Toriel as best as you could, squeezing her in a hug. She pats your back and envelopes you in such a warm embrace. You craved it.

 

“There there…. It’s alright now. I’ll take care of you. I promise.”

 

***It smells like butterscotch and cinnamon.**

 

The hug lasted longer than Flowey would have liked, but eventually Toriel and the human let each other go, and hand in hand, both walked deeper into The Ruins. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, it's me. I wanted to thank you all so much for the wonderful comments you've given me since the last time I updated. It's been bugging me constantly that this chapter was just sitting in my files, half done. I wanted so bad to finish and post it, that for the past two days, all I did was focus on this chapter, hoping that the second I finish it, I could post it for you all and show you that I haven't given up. I'm still planning to give it everything I have, and there's no way I'm not gonna let you all down.
> 
> It might take some time for the next chapter to come out, but I really hope you all will stick around until the very end. I know I can finish this. I can improve. I just need some determination.
> 
> I can't wait to see you all at the next update!
> 
> If you all want to contact me, I have a twitter account @MissReaperDeath. I draw sometimes and make posts about life and sometimes about my story updates and progress! Tweet me everyone!


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